Check out our new page dedicated to Welgar the Cursed

I have now created a page dedicated to news and information about Welgar the Cursed, a chronological collection of my Welgar stories published by Tule Fog Press as a paperback and ebook. 

Welgar the Cursed - Sword and Sorcery collection

Welgar the Cursed reviewed on Goodreads

There are a number of interesting reviews for my sword and sorcery collection Welgar the Cursed on Goodreads. If you are curious, please just click on this link: https://www.goodreads.com/.../227836196-welgar-the-cursed

Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author by William M. Oliver

Just received my hardcover copy of Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author by William M. Oliver a few minutes ago from Blackwell's Bookshop. I look forward to start reading this later today.

(£5 cheaper than from amazon and much better packaged!)

A 5-star review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 10 on Goodreads

An interesting, in-depth review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 10 has been posted on Goodreads by Richard Fisher. Check the review here.

Ossani the Healer - two new tales to be published soon plus a collection

 

Another of my continuing characters, the secretive sorcerer Ossani the Healer, who is sometimes the main character in my stories and at others just a secondary one, may have his own collection next year. Negotiations are underway.

More to be revealed later - probably much later.

 

In the meantime two of his stories will appear in Swords & Heroes Quarterly Volume 2: The Moneylender of Oriaska and Ossani's Apprentice, in which I introduce my first female main character in a sword and sorcery tale.

Review of Welgar the Cursed in Crimson Quill Quarterly #6

I have been given permission by Crimson Quill Quarterly #6 to quote the full review published in this issue of my swords and sorcery collection from Tule Fog Press, Welgar the Cursed:

David A. Riley’s chronological collection of his Welgar the Northerner’s/Cursed adventures compose a gripping collection of new-age sword and sorcery with enough of the golden age flavor to bring readers new and old to the revived S&S genre. Each tale within stands as their own separate pieces, but when told one after the other, as Riley has finally been able to do here, they build upon each other, with the next tale being that much more enjoyable by having just finished reading the one before. Brutality and action are balanced with poignant periods of introspection that is equally haunted and lethal.

What impressed me most as a reader, however, was Riley’s ability to blend real world tyranny into tales of fantasy in a way that was not preachy or allegorical, but rather by revealing hints of what may have inspired him to write these incredible pieces of S&S in the first place. Furthermore, the depths of Riley’s story-telling prowess is on full display when viewing the collection as a whole, as it shows that this was no random string of wandering escapades. There is a slow and compelling evolution that allows readers to experience the world, as well as rummage through Welgar’s own thoughts, alongside him.

Welgar the Cursed is an extravagant tapestry of the struggle to survive and overcome, led by one of Riley’s most compelling characters that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. One can only hope there is more planned for him in the future.

 

Parallel Universe Publications Newsletter for May 2025

 

The latest PUP Newsletter was emailed yesterday. If you would like to read the pdf of it now please click on the following link: Parallel Universe Publications Newsletter May 2025